THE body of a vulnerable schizophrenic lay undiscovered for up to four months even though his carers were told to see him every four weeks.

Tragic Barry Picard's corpse had mummified and was covered with mould when police broke into his Caversham flat and found him lying on the floor of his bedroom.

The 46-year-old - a former Fair Mile Hospital patient - was last seen alive in August by his sister-in-law Pauline Picard while his social services and health carers appear not to have spoken to him since June.

Mr Picard's case was being handled by four social services and health professionals and his community support worker Lorraine Connell had been told he should be seen every four weeks.

Furious relatives are demanding an investigation. Sister Marlene said: "We feel he has been neglected. We can't leave it like this."

Reading Borough Council has launched an investigation but both Reading coroner Dr Joe Pim and social services chief Pete Ruhemann have exonerated the care of Mr Picard.

Ms Connell, a community support worker, told an inquest on Thursday last week she had to visit Mr Picard every four weeks and saw him five times between March and June.

She then lost touch with him but visited his flat in Flambards, Caversham, seven times until October, wrote him letters, contacted his sister, his GP, social worker and psychiatric nurse.

Ms Connell said she also contacted the Department of Social Security, the Home Office and the consulate from his native Jamaica in a bid to track him down.

"It was not unusual for him to disappear for lengths of time," she said. He is likely to have still been alive in mid-September, when his

benefits were last claimed.

Ms Connell reported him missing to police, but when they visited his flat in October neighbours said they had seen lights on and heard voices - which turned out to be a TV.

PC Robert Pitman returned on January 10 and broke into the flat, finding Mr Picard's body on the floor in his bedroom.

Pathologist Dr Leo Horton said Mr Picard's body was mummified and he could not discover what killed him. Authorities have ruled out foul play.

Recording an open verdict, Dr Pim said: "I was, at one stage, concerned why he had been left so long and that people had not followed things up, but if people hear noises from a flat it is reasonable to assume someone was around.

However, from existing evidence we are confident that the community support worker [Ms Connell] acted very competently and did everything possible to make contact with Mr Picard."

The discovery of Mr Picard follows that of Edward White, who was dead for up to three months before his council landlords turned up to evict him for not paying his rent, and William Bartley, discovered about four weeks after his death in 2001 when neighbours complained of the smell.